Have I ever told you that I am a car fanatic? Yes, the kind of person whom you will find browsing auto specs in books, magazines, reading the latest road tests/reviews, auto shows. Yes, I am one such individual!

I don’t like automobiles. I LOVE them, especially old, classic models from the 50’s and 60’s. In fact, if I could, I would gladly own and drive one such as the super cute Fiat 500 🙂 Whenever I see one I quickly turn my head around!

A few years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with my family to ring in the New Year. We spent a fun week in Varadero and La Habana, Cuba.

It was our first time in the Caribbean country and we were quite impressed! Not only it is gorgeous, especially the incredible white sand beaches and turquoise water (see above) but also how you can actually see the real Cuba, the one you don’t really get to see on TV. Reality is completely different. It really deserves to be seen with your own eyes.

There is also something else that I noticed right from the moment we set foot on the island and that was seeing so many classic vehicles on the road.

We saw old Chevy’s, Oldsmobile’s, Fords and even some Ladas!

It was simply incredible to me that they were still running and in almost mint condition considering the age of the vehicles, almost half a century after they were originally built!

Now they are not just for us to admire. They are put to work as private taxis by their respective owner and take you anywhere you ask them to!

In our case, we hired one and little did we know how much fun it would be. We asked the driver to take us to a local market to buy some crafts and souvenirs. What a pleasant surprise it was to learn that a ride (regardless of the number of passengers) was only $5 USD one way. We sure didn’t think twice! Our model was a classic white Ford Taurus with black and very comfortable leather seats.

Dad sat in the front with the driver Manuel, while my mother, sister and I sat in the back. We really felt as if we went back in time!

We watched the landscape slowly pass by, heard some old Cuban music on the radio (which is still working by the way) and we got to hear some interesting stories! Everyone stared at us and the car obviously, we felt as if we were truly important persons 🙂

It was definitely the ride of a lifetime. We got a glimpse of what Cuban life was like in a short period of time.

That’s precisely what Air Transat wanted to share with Canadians and decided to bring a bit of the Caribbean flair a few days ago.

A typical and light blue Cuban cab nicknamed El Taxi Loco was put into service in the heart of Canada’s biggest, busiest and most dynamic city, Toronto.  They wanted the locals or visitors to live an unforgettable and fun experience!

Not only did they jump on the opportunity, they also experienced funny situations like sharing the cab with other passengers (as it would have happened on the island).

Now this was no ordinary ride, it became an indoor party! The extra passengers happened to be musicians and they started to sing and the passengers were given musical instruments to keep the merriment going! They even danced and joined a conga line in Kensington Market!

Watch the hilarious and original video filmed during the event:

These very lucky passengers not only had a fun time, they received a gift they sure we not expecting! They received tickets for a week-long, all-inclusive package to sunny Cuba!

Isn’t that a great reason to shake those maracas and smile from all the way from Toronto to Varadero or La Habana?

What a great initiative and way to inspire travelers at heart to book their next Cuba vacation with Air Transat!

I invite you to follow them on:

Website: www.airtransat.ca

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AirTransat

Facebook: https://facebook.com/AirTransatCanada

Instagram: http://instagram.com/airtransat

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+airtransat

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=airtransat

And follow the hashtag #experiencetransat for more stories!

 

Now tell me,

 

Have you been to Cuba? If so, where did you go?

If you haven’t, would you like to?

 

Tell us all about it.

Until next time,

Many Happy Travels!

K 🙂

 

 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Made in Blog.

Opinions are and will always be mine.

I could talk about cars and travel until dawn 😉